


Of Riddles and Acceptance

by ChocolatesLovechild



Series: Until Summer Starts [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: ADHD!Steph, Batfam fluff, Batfamily Feels, F/F, Fluff, I tried my best, If I portrayed ADHD wrong pls tell me, Jaytim if you squint, M/M, Riddles, Stephanie and Cassandra r in love fite me, batfam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 17:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14477406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolatesLovechild/pseuds/ChocolatesLovechild
Summary: Stephanie let her mind turn over the riddle, picking it apart. Her thoughts stopping and beginning, new insights driving her closer until- Oh my god its so obvious.Stephanie lept up, a grin secured on her face. “A brain!”





	Of Riddles and Acceptance

Stephanie was itching. Her mind felt crowded. Thoughts racing, fingers tapping, leg jittering, Stephanie sat in the batcave. Patrol had been disappointing. No baddies posed any challenge tonight. That sucked beacuase Stephanie had been cooped up all day writing college papers and trying to focus on a particularly difficult math problem. It had sucked. This sucked.

Riddler decided to be vicious tonight and make Bruce solve riddles away from the streets. Of Course Riddler was watching them from a huge projector in front of the batcave table. Ofcourse they had to solve riddles to save civilians from bombs in their purses and backpacks. And ofcourse Batman made Red Hood, Red Robin. Oracle, Nightwing, Black Bat, Robin, and Batgirl sit around to try to help him solve the riddles.

Stephanie wanted to help. She used to love riddles. Six year old Stephanie rejoiced in every rubix cube, crossword puzzle, and brain teaser she could get her hands on. But then she saw the exact same tendencies in her ‘Dad’ and stubbornly refused to indulge herself again. Now Stephanie soothed her racing thoughts and hyperactive urges with jumping off rooftops and beating up criminals. But that hasn't worked tonight and she felt particularly off kilter and puzzles were right here. She could save lives. 

“Ah, Ah~. Your running out of time. C’mon Bats, I have billions of eyes, yet i live in darkness. I have millions of ears, yet only four lobes. I have no muscles, yet I rule two hemispheres. What am I?”

Batman sat thinking it over and Red Robin seemed on the verge of an answer. Oracle looked like she could rip her hair out and Cassandras hands balled up into fists. Jason growled and Nightwing looked stumped. Even Robin seemed panicked. 

Stephanie let her mind turn over the riddle, picking it apart. Her thoughts stopping and beginning, new insights driving her closer until- Oh my god its so obvious.

Stephanie lept up, a grin secured on her face. “A brain!”

The entire room turned to face her, varying looks of irediculiy and shock painted across their faces. Stephanie hid her shakiness with a huff. Cassandra read her body language instantly, as she strung their fingers together. The girl Stephanie loved more than waffles didn't smile. Instead, her eyes twinkled.

“You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when Im fat. The wind is my enemy.” Riddlers voice was sly, shock replaced by curiosity.

Well, go big or go home. 

Stephanie let herself unravel the riddle, so absorbed in her thoughts that the states that normally creep over her skin became nothing but a twinge in the back of her mind. 

Time crept by. The Riddler tutted, disappointed.,

It clicked while her fingers tapped on the table relentlessly.

Stephanie's eyes snapped open, “A candle.” Her voice pitched with excitement yet her posture was at ease. The Riddlers grin adopted an unsettling cheshire look. “ What gets broken without being held.”

Stephanie took a deep breath before falling into her mind, her thoughts like tunnels. Her foot tapping as she reatraced her steps, fell into the same ends, dug new connections, and random musings wormed their way into knots. Although it normally gritted on her nerves, when Stephanie did puzzles, her tunnels aided her. “ A promise.” Riddler smirked “Smart girl.”

“What runs around the house but doesn't move.” 

“ A fence.” Stephanie jumped in victory.

“I can be made and I can be played. I can be cracked and I can be told. What am I?”

“ A joke.” 

“Which letter of the alphabet contains the most water?”

“C.”

Finally, The Riddler sat back like a lazy sated cat ands the projector went blank. The first to speak was Jason. “Ok, what the fuck was that.” Stephanie flinched. Barbara scolded him, “Jason!” Jason opened his mouth to reply but got cut off by Tim. “That. is. so. insane.”   
“It really is”, added Barbara. Damien contributed his thoughts, “Tt, I'm appalled you have a tidbit of intelligence fat girl.” Dick squealed “Can I have your autograph?” Cassandra's lips curled in that pleased way that crossed her whenever Stephanie did something that she liked. It flitted across Cassandra's face often. Bruce finally spoke “Impressive.”

Stephanie's lips quivered, her hands behind her back to hide the erratic movement she needed to not breakdown. “Thanks guys.” Tim gave Stephanie a concerned look, “Are you okay?” Stephanie nodded. Damian scowled, “Lying doesn't suit you fat girl.” Dick spoke, “ What's wrong?” 

Shit, that tone meant Dick would squeeze the truth out of Steph like a lemon. Stephanie relented, her teeth worrying her lip. “ My dad loved riddles and puzzles. I don't want to be anything like that scumbag..”

Barbara fixed Stephanie with an indignant look. “Steph you just saved people back their. You used your mind for good. Those people are going home to their families because of you, you, not Bruce, or me, or even Tim. What I just saw back there wasn't a goon or a scumbag, I saw a hero. This gift is yours Steph, and i'll be damned if you don't understand how amazing that is!” Stephanie looked at Barbara with shocked hope, tears blurring her vision. “You really think so?.” Barbara grinned. “I know so.”

Bruce stood up and squeezed Stephanie's shoulder, “Good job.” Dick smiled, all teeth and happiness. “And were totally having a puzzle contest.” Stephanie laughed, the surealness of the situation slowly ebbed away.

Cassandra stood up and looked at Stephanie with affection. Stephanie smirked, “I should get a reward for my hard thinking, shouldn't I Cass” Cassandra moved like a panther, all liquid grace, as she prowled close to Stephanie. She cupped the nape of Stephanie's neck and leaned up to press a sweet kiss to Stephanie's cheek. “There.” Stephanie giggled, blushing and giddy. “ Perfect.” 

Damien made a gagging sound. Stephanie scowled, “Oh shut up, you and Jon are worse.” Damien huffed, his biting retort cut off by Bruce. “Celebratory movie?” Tim groaned; “You always play the same ones. Jason bopped Tim on the nose, “Shut up, you love those movies.” Tim squawked, pink staining his cheeks. Stephanie snorted. “Let's go eat microwave popcorn and watch Bruce's old movies.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! :)  
> If I portrayed Adhd wrong pls tell me in the comments  
> If you have any batfam headcanons you can tell me and I’ll probably write a fic about it   
> This prompt was given to me by my lovley geniuse of a friend Grace so kudos to her brilliance. :D
> 
> ( if you liked this you can check out my other batfam fics in the series. The series is just unrelated batfam fics with a minimal 1000 word count. I post Saturday’s or Sunday’s every week. The series will stop when summer starts!)


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